


Hannibal: You're taking over me

by DragonSlayer2526



Series: Hannibal: Taking Over Me [1]
Category: Hannibal (TV)
Genre: Ardelia Mapp freeform, BAMF Ardelia Mapp, BAMF Clarice Starling, Blood and Gore, Blood and Injury, Blood and Torture, Blood and Violence, Cannibalistic Thoughts, Childhood Memories, Childhood Trauma, Clarice Starling freeform, Explicit Language, F/M, Humor, Love Triangles, Older Man/Younger Woman, Possessive Behavior, Possessive Hannibal, Protective Hannibal, Psychological Trauma, Serial Killers, Sexual Tension, Slow Romance, Slow build Hannibal Lecter/Clarice Starling, Strong Female Characters, Unresolved Sexual Tension
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-09-14
Updated: 2017-09-20
Packaged: 2018-12-27 20:04:39
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 4
Words: 6,622
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12088389
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DragonSlayer2526/pseuds/DragonSlayer2526
Summary: Being one of fifteen top students of the F.B.I academy is hard enough but being the protege to Will Graham is even harder, yet Clarice Starling takes great pride and admiration in her task and maybe a little joy. A young woman of twenty, Clarice is driven by curiosity and an very active imagination but under her sharp tongue and razor wit she hides childhood trauma.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

  * For [LoreDream](https://archiveofourown.org/users/LoreDream/gifts), [Roza_VA_Belikov](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Roza_VA_Belikov/gifts), [Professional Guest](https://archiveofourown.org/gifts?recipient=Professional+Guest), [zozozo](https://archiveofourown.org/users/zozozo/gifts).



> So I was thinking about this new story (sorry but I couldn't stop myself xD) and I couldn't shake this new idea
> 
> Clarice is still the same but there's some differences to her as well, you'll still love her though. She gives a lot, but not everything. Most important to remember is this: it's a mistake to assume Clarice is weak, but it's also a mistake to assume she is strong. She is both. The message is: don't push her beyond her limits, because although it might appear that she has none, she does draw the line at some point. Everyone should avoid taking advantage of her good nature and willingness to make sacrifices. She sees her willingness to forgive and understand as a strength, and others should too.
> 
> Clarice Starling: https://i.pinimg.com/564x/7f/e1/7c/7fe17c81c8733ec3e87e4eb05bac83b4.jpg FBI Trainee
> 
> Ardelia Mapp: https://i.pinimg.com/564x/9e/84/80/9e8480de101365ca3a7287f67f55cfe2.jpg FBI Trainee
> 
> Casanova Ripper: https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/564x/93/0d/cc/930dcc7691233f9344a30eec57d4a621.jpg haven't given him a name yet other than what Clarice and Ardelia had dubbed him....
> 
> These lovely ladies are around the same age (I know their pictures probably don't look like it) and are roommates.

** Prologue **

**Red Brick House, Baltimore**

White covered in blood...and the screaming of children...

With a loud, almost choking gasp, Clarice Starling shot up from her bed covered in sweat that made her white tank top and pajama bottoms cling to her body like a second skin. Her breasts heaved with each breath she took as she looked around with unfocused eyes but soon they became to become clear and focus as sleep slowly loses its hold on her... More like the nightmare that had awoken her lost its hold on her. And she realized that she had been trapped in the nightmare all through the night because she can see the light of dawn slowly entering her dark room.

Damn, when will she ever sleep at night without that nightmare waking her up?

A smirk curls her lips up, not a nightmare it was a memory, a terrible one that she will never get away from. With a sigh, she flung off the blanket and sheet before she stood up and padded over to her bathroom. She flicked the bathroom light on and turned on the faucet, splashing her face with the cold water before she braced herself on the sink and looked at her reflection in the mirror.

Messy black hair and dark circles under her blue eyes, yeah her mentor will totally notice that she hadn't been sleeping again and will question it...not that she keeps anything from him but still, she was too old to be having nightmares for Pete's sake!

She needed coffee, yeah coffee will help settle her nerves.

Clarice walked out of her bathroom, she walked over to the door and opened it then she walked the hallway.

"Lia Lia, is a pot of coffee made already?" She shouted as she walked passed her roommate's closed bedroom door.

A muffled voice spoke from within, "Yes, I had gotten up earlier to make a pot for you." 

"Cool beans..." Clarice mumbled before she made a beeline for the kitchen, yawning once more.

She poured herself a cup of coffee, taking a sip of the strong hot drink. Closing her eyes to savor the taste as the warmth spread through her entire body, clearing her mind from the bad memory that she had.

Ardelia Mapp walked out of her room and looked at Clarice and said to the black haired woman. "Hurry up before we're late for class, lazy bones." Ardelia ran her fingers through her curly dark brown hair that had light high lights in it before she pulled it up into a ponytail, she really hated how unruly her curls were.

Clarice playfully flipped Ardelia off.

"Not even on your best day." Ardelia shot back.

In response, Clarice just stuck out her tongue.

Ardelia rolled her hazel brown eyes at her friend's antics and shook her head.

"I'll take a quick shower." Clarice said before she finished off the last of her coffee then she headed to her room. 

Her friend didn't ask her how she slept, she already knew the answer to that pointless question. Ardelia knew about her nightmares and her ritual of drinking a cup of coffee before getting ready for class.

Clarice takes a quick shower and gets dress just as quickly, she leaves her room after getting her leather jacket and sees Ardelia waiting for her with her own leather jacket on. Both women silently leave the house, Clarice locked the door behind them before they climb into her black 1969 Dodge Charger RT that was parked in their driveway and drove off. 

\-----------

A woman was strapped to a surgical gurney with a man standing over her, digging deep into her body through a opening that he had cut into her. She was beautiful, she had a stab wound to an area called 'Heaven's Gate' at the bottom of her head, just below her ear and her tongue was cut out. He would put an organ onto the tray next to him before he stuck his gloved hands back inside the woman. The man wore surgical scrubs so that his expensive clothing didn't get blood stains on them.

On a table behind him was jars filled with organs, too many to be from the woman on the gurney...he has been doing this for a while.

"You are quite healthy." The man whispered in a deep baritone. "Which is good because I hate wasting meat." He put down her heart, all the organs were on the table. He'll have to clean them and pickle or freeze them so they wouldn't go to waste.

Now it was time to return her to the world.

As he is sewing the woman back up the man glanced up to the side suddenly not because he heard something but because he was looking at a large image on his wall. It was of another woman long black hair and laughing blue eyes, the large picture was made from smaller pictures of the same woman.

He didn't know her name, just her face and the type of car she drove but he'll change that...he wanted to get to know her better and put her in the secret room that he had in his basement, and not let anyone see her ever again. Maybe he can get her to work with him, luring in new prey into his place of horrors...


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Clarice's accent in the same as Rogue from the X-Men the Animated Series and Rogue from X-Men Evolution.
> 
> Best way to describe Clarice since she's a small town girl from Barboursville, Cabell County, West Virginia:  
> http://www.huffingtonpost.com/lexi-herrick/13-reasons-to-date-a-girl-from-a-small-town_b_7789908.html
> 
> As you have no doubt noticed, I had changed my username yet again to match the stories that I tend to write a lot (and will write a lot of) and two of those stories will be a what if he wasn't revealed to be a cannibalistic serial killer (Will still thinks he is, of course)....you have no idea how many story ideas that I have for these two now, all of which will be based on the TV series.
> 
> My Hannibal TV series playlist (if any of you have any songs that you think that would fit these two, let me know in your comment and I will add it to my Spotify playlist):
> 
> I'm In Love With a Monster- Fifth Harmony  
> Animals- Maroon 5  
> Sway- Michael Buble (and Dean Martin's)  
> I Hate Everything About You- Three Days Grace  
> Save My Heart- Jason Reeves  
> Taking Over Me- Evanscence  
> Sharp Dressed Man- ZZ Top  
> Opposites Attract- Paula Abdul  
> If I Ain't Got You- Alicia Keys  
> Cannibal- Kesha  
> Wherever You Will Go- The Calling  
> Eat you Up- BoA  
> Save The Last Dance For Me- Michael Buble
> 
> Some of these songs will becomes future titles of future stories.

**Apéritif Teaser**

  _ **A handsome, haunted man with a naive focus. Reflective light flashes across his face, lighting up his eyes. All sound is dulled as if his ears were blocked, the ambient noise of the man’s circulatory system provided an organic hum. He stared into middle-distance.**_

_**Arterial spray splashed a wall near a blood-soaked carpet.** _

_**Through the windows dozens of officers and as many police cars. A crime-scene photographer takes pictures. A team of coroners remove two bodies, Theresa and Thomas Marlow, both 30s/40s. A tableau of horrible violence. Will Graham sat serenely amongst the carnage on a yoga mat.** _

_**A police officer and suited Detective herd the Crime-Scene Photographer and the remaining team of Coroners out the door.** _

_**Will took a breath, exhales, then closed his eyes.** _

_**A pendulum swung in the darkness of Will’s mind, keeping rhythm with his heart beat.** _  
  
_**His eyes are closed. The pendulum is now outside his head. It swung behind Will, wiping away in its wake the gush of arterial spray from the wall. The pendulum swung on the other side of the window, wiping away the officers and police cars in front of the house. The pendulum swung across the stained carpet lifting the blood.** _

_**The pendulum swung across the blood spattered security key pad and the rust-colored dried drops vanish.** _  
  
_**The crime scene has now been decriminalized in Will’s mind. Will opened his eyes and stood up, turned and walked backwards toward the front door (which shows signs of a violent forced entry), opening it behind him, back-stepping outside before closing it again. The door is now pristine, pre-forced entry.** _  
  
_**Will walked backward out the front door, across the lawn, over the sidewalk. He is now alone in the neighborhood in his P.O.V.** _

_**The Police Officers, Detectives, Coroners and Crime-Scene Specialists all part or stand by, averting their eyes as they intentionally avoid looking at Will Graham backwards walking through them toward the shadowy yard across the street. A Police Officer breaks protocol and sneaks a peek at Will. A superior officer snapped and pointed at the Officer, who quickly fixed his gaze on the ground in front of his feet.** _  
  
_**The street is empty. The pendulum stopped swinging, snapping into place as Will snapped into focus. He watched the quiet house (he just back-walked out of) from across the street. Through the partially curtained windows, he can see the silhouettes of (still living) Theresa and Thomas Marlow. Will watched them for a long moment, taking in their domesticity, then walked with purpose for the front door.** _  
  
_**The crowd of Officers, Detectives, Coroners and Specialists parted to allow Will Graham a direct path.** _  
  
_**He marched to the front door and violently kicked it in. The home security alarm blared. Thomas Marlow rushed down the stairs, two steps at a time, moving to intercept Will. Will raised a towel-wrapped arm. Thomas realized too late that it’s concealing a gun. Will shot him twice through the neck.** _  
  
_**"I shoot Mr. Marlow twice, severing jugulars and cartoids with near surgical precision. He will die watching me take what is his away from him. This is my design." Will said.** _

_**Theresa Marlow is frantically pushing the panic code into the home security key pad when Will shot her expertly through the throat, missing her jugular, breaking her neck and peppering the key pad with blood. She dropped to the floor.** _  
  
_**"I shoot Mrs. Marlow expertly through the neck. This is not a fatal wound. The bullet misses every artery. She is paralyzed before it leaves her body. Which doesn’t mean she can’t feel pain. It just means she can’t do anything about it. This is my design." Will continued to say.** _

_**Will finished punching in “OFF” on the alarm code and the blaring home security alarm is mercifully silenced. The phone immediately rang, Will picked it up.** _  
  
_**"This is DDX Security. Who am I speaking with?" The voice on the telephone asked.** _

_**Will hanged up the phone, breaking character as he asked, "I need the Incident Report from the Home Security company."** _

_**Will is now holding the Incident Report. "This was recorded as a false alarm. There was a false alarm last week." Will said preusing the report. "He tapped their phone."** _  
  
_**A phone company repairman has climbed to the top of the telephone pole and is examining an open customer service box.** _  
  
_**"Yup." The repairman said.** _  
  
_**As before, Will held the land line in one hand and his own smart phone in the other.** _  
  
_**"This is DDT Security. Who am I speaking with?" The voice on the telephone asked.** _  
  
_**Will held his smart phone to the phone receiver as he watched Theresa Marlow bleed to death, paralyzed by the shot through her neck, unable to say a word. He pressed a button and her voice said, "Theresa Marlow."** _  
  
_**"Can you please confirm your password for security purposes."** _  
  
_**"Tea kettle." Smart Phone Theresa said when Will pressed another button** _  
  
_**"Thank you, Mrs. Marlow. We detected a front door alarm."** _  
  
_**Another button was pressed, "Yes, that was me. That was my fault. Sorry about that.** _  
  
_**"Is there anyone in the house with you at this time, Mrs. Marlow?"** _  
  
_**"I’m just here with my husband. It’s all good. We’re good." Another button was pressed.** _  
  
_**"Do you require any further assistance at this time?"** _  
  
_**"No. Thank you so much for calling. Sorry about the false alarm." After the last button was pressed, Will hang up the phone and looked sympathetically at Theresa Marlow.** _

_**"And this is where it gets truly horrifying for Mrs. Marlow."** _

**F.B.I. ACADEMY, QUANTICO, VIRGINIA**

Will Graham lectured a classroom of F.B.I. trainees.  
  
"Everyone has thought about killing someone one way or another. Be it your own hands or the hand of God. Now think about killing Mrs. Marlow." A series of Marlowe hoem crime scene pictures are projected on the screen behind Will. He surveys the lecture hall for social appearances, he paused briefly and made eye contact with two of his students: Clarice Starling and Ardelia Mapp who are, as usual, sitting side by side and taking notes. It was nice to see his protege no longer friendless, she had a hard time opening up to new people and often comes off as sarcastic which was something she used as a way to defend herself from people who she thinks would view her as damaged but Ms. Mapp had seen through her defenses and befriended Clarice (whom she had taken to calling 'Clare Bear'). "Why did she deserve this? Tell me your design. Tell me who you are."

\------

A man walked down the corridor toward Will Graham’s lecture hall.

Jack Crawford (weathered, austere, strongly built late 40s) entered the classroom as the trainees file out of the classroom. There are scattered smitten glances tossed Will’s direction, who is naturally oblivious because he is actively avoiding eye contact with everyone, even as he warned his exiting students, "The sad, dull truth of these crimes is they can usually be reduced to a male penetrative control issue. I am expecting a higher level of scrutiny."

Will smiled at Clarice when she sent him a subtle wave and Ardelia smiled at him.

The last of the trainees exited the room and Will noticed he’s alone in his lecture hall with the weathered, austere man.  
  
"Mr. Graham." The man greeted.

Will quickly put on a pair of glasses as Jack approached. The top rim of Will's glasses are strategically positioned to block Jack's eyes and prevent direct eye-contact.  
  
"I’m Special Agent Jack Crawford. I lead the Behavioral Science Unit." Jack said.  
  
"We’ve met." Will said.

Jack knows full well they’ve met but didn’t intend to broach, "Yes, we had a disagreement about the museum when we opened it."  
  
"I disagreed with what you named it." Will stated.  
  
"The Evil Minds Research Museum?" Jack asked.

"It’s a little hammy, Jack." Will replied.

Jack liked Will’s directness and returned the favor, "You’ve hitched your horse to a teaching post. I understand it’s not easy for you to be sociable."  
  
"I’m just talking at them. I’m not listening to them. It’s not social." Will said.

Jack gently pushed Will’s glasses up the bridge of his nose so he’s forced to make fleeting eye contact.  
  
"Where do you fall on the spectrum?" Jack asked.

Will picked up the rhythm and syntax of Jack’s voice, "My horse is hitched to a post closer to Aspergers and Autistics than narcissists and sociopaths."  
  
"But you can empathize with narcissists and sociopaths." Jack said.  
  
"I can empathize with anybody. Less to do with personality disorders than an active imagination." Will said.

Jack smiled at that, he leaned in and then asked, "Can I borrow your imagination?"

\----------

"Professor Graham was looking mighty hot today, Clare Bear."

Blue eyes flicked up to briefly meet hazel brown eyes before they looked back down at the book she was reading, a book about Jeffery Dahmer, the Milwaukee Cannibal. Ardelia wasn't bothered by her roommate's (and best friend in the whole freaking world) reading habits because she too shared the same interest. Which had helped them become close friends and roommates, that and both women can be sarcastic and witty when the mood struck them.

Which happened to be all the time.

Though that closeness also caused many people to think that they were dating, which amused both women.

"I have no idea what you are trying to imply, Delia." Came the calm reply.

Both trainees were in the cafeteria, eating lunch before they had to go to their next class.

Ardelia pointed her fork at Clarice and said, "Uh huh, don't play dumb with me, Clare Bear, I know you got a mad crush on the Professor Will Graham...not that I blame you 'cause the man is hot."

Clarice closed her book as she playfully rolled her eyes, "Your mind is playing tricks on you, Delia."

"Nuh uh."

"Yuh uh."

"Nuh uh."

"Yuh uh, and students aren't allowed to date teachers." Clarice said. "It could be used in the students favor and the teacher would always pass their young lover."

Ardelia hummed at that and said, "True but Professor Graham doesn't seem the type to do that."

"He isn't." Clarice agreed. "Not that he would date anyone, he's just as damaged as I am."

At that, Ardelia hit her friend on the arm as she scolded her, "You are not damaged! Jeez, I should have ran that asshole over that day...and then backed up and ran over him again!"

Clarice smiled at her friend, grateful for her protectiveness and friendship, "Thanks, Delia but I don't think the Academy would have liked the fact that another of their top students was involve in a murder of another student."

"It would have been justified." Ardelia said in a playfully sullen manner that caused her friend to laugh.

"Come on, we have to go to our next class."

"Ugh, I really hate Professor Boyd, the guy is a Grade A sexist jerk of an asshat." Ardelia said as she and Clarice stood up, they collected their things and threw away their plates and forks.

Clarice chucked and said, "You're preaching to the choir, girl." 

Ardelia sighed and said, "Let's get this over with..."

The black haired woman laughed at that and patted her friend on the back in sarcastic sympathy, to which the other woman shoved her friend playfully as they both shared a laugh. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am going to have it that Clarice has a crush on her professor and mentor, Will Graham....nothing happens, well maybe a kiss...maybe ;D
> 
> One doesn't write and tell ;)
> 
> I know, I am such a tease xD
> 
> Also Ardelia will ship Clarice with anyone who she views can take care of her best friend and protect her.


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hannibal isn't in this chapter...sorry!!
> 
> Clarice's baby http://carswithmuscles.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/01/drt5.jpg seriously she is the only one allowed to work on it, she knows how to fix it and drive it

**Aperitif Act 1**

**F.B.I. ACADEMY GROUNDS - QUANTICO, VIRGINIA**

Jack Crawford is leading Will Graham across a field of trainees on a firing range as another group of trainees in matching sweats jogged by.  
  
"Eight girls from eight different Minnesota campuses abducted in the last eight months." Jack explained.  
  
"I thought there were seven." Will said.  
  
"There were." Jack said.  
  
"When did you tag the eighth?" Will asked.  
  
"About three minutes before I walked into your lecture hall." Jack answered.  
  
"You’re calling them “abductions” because you have no bodies?" Will asked.  
  
"We have nothing. No bodies. No parts of bodies. Nothing that comes out of a body. We have lonely swabs in used evidence kits." Jack said.  
  
"Then those girls weren’t taken from where you think they were taken." Will said.  
  
"Where were they taken from?" Jack asked.  
  
"I don’t know. Someplace else." Will said.

\-----------

A map of Minnesota seven blue squares dot the map corresponding with seven graduation or casual pictures of the seven missing girls.

"All abducted on a Friday so they’re not reported missing until Monday. However he’s covering his, tracks he needs the weekend to do it." Jack said.

Jack tacked an eighth blue square to the map and hands a senior prom portrait of Elise Nichols to Will.  
  
"Number eight?" Will asked.  
  
"Elise Nichols. St. Cloud State on the Mississippi. Disappeared Friday. Supposed to house sit for her parents over the weekend. Feed their cat. Never made it home." Jack explained.  
  
"One through seven are dead, don’t you think? He’s not keeping them around. Got himself a new one." Will said.  
  
Jack said, agreeing with Will, "We’re focusing on Elise Nichols."

Will took in the smiling hopeful faces next to blue squares, "They all look like Mall of America. That’s a lot of wind-chaffed skin."  
  
"Same hair color. Same eye color. Roughly same age, height, weight. What is it about all these girls?" Jack asked.  
  
"It’s not about all of these girls. It’s about one of them." Will said as he pined Elise Nichols’ photo next to the eighth blue square. "He’s like Willy Wonka. Every girl he takes is a candy bar. Hidden amongst all those candy bars is the one, true intended victim, which if we follow through on the metaphor, would be your Golden Ticket."  
  
"Warming up for his Golden Ticket or reliving whatever he did to her." Jack said.  
  
"Golden Ticket wouldn’t be the first taken and she wouldn’t be the last. He would hide how special she is. I mean, I would. Wouldn’t you?" Will asked.  
  
"I’d like you to get closer to this." Jack said.  
  
"You have Heimlich at Harvard and Bloom at Georgetown. They do the same thing I do." Will said.  
  
"That’s not really true, is it? You have a specific way of thinking." Jack said.  
  
"Has there been a lot of discussion about the specific way I think?" Will asked.  
  
"You make jumps you don’t explain." Jack stated.  
  
"The evidence explains." Will said.  
  
"Then help me find some evidence." Jack said.

Will studied the beautiful milquetoast faces on the map, "That may require me to be sociable."

\--------

Clarice knocked on the door of Jack Crawford's office, Ardelia was standing behind her both young women had a confused and worried look on their faces. None of the trainees ever wanted to be called to Mr. Crawford's office.

"Come in." 

She pushed open the door and walked over to stand in front of his desk, staring down at the man sitting behind it. The Guru, as the trainees called Jack Crawford, was very well known amongst the trainees because of his peculiar cleverness. 

"You and Ms. Mapp are going to be helping the Quantico Homicide Detectives with a series of murders that have been happening." Jack said after a moment of silence.

"Sir?" Clarice repeated as she and Ardelia shared a look.

"Apparently you two had impressed them when you had gone to help them make a profile of the last killer." Jack said as he looked up at the two women. "So they want you to help them with this one."

"Yes, sir." Both women said.

"Good, you are to report to Detective Maza when you get to the latest crime scene and he'll fill you in." Jack said as he handed the two trainees the case files. "Now go and be careful."

"Thank you, sir." Both women once again said before they took the files and walked out of his office.

Once safely outside and down the hall did the two trainees start to talk together, putting their heads together and whispering.

"Whoa, we must have really impressed that hard ass Maza if he wants us to help him again." Ardelia whispered.

Clarice smiled and whispered back, "Yeah, no kidding but let's head there and see what's up."

**DULUTH, MINNESOTA- NICHOLS’ HOME - LIVING ROOM**

Will and Jack sat opposite Mr. and Mrs. Nichols, Elise’s parents. They are sick with worry. Mr. Nichols is rationalizing while Mrs. Nichols seems almost resigned.  
  
"She could have gone off by herself. She was a very interior young woman. She didn’t like living in a dorm. I could see how the pressure of school might have gotten to her. She likes trains. Maybe she just got on a train and..." Mr. Nichols trailed off, it was hard to convince even himself. Will continued to avoid eye contact with the Nichols, he should have brought Clarice with him but she had been assigned to a case by Jack before they left.

Something that Will wasn't happy about since he didn't think she was ready, her ability wasn't fully developed yet.  
  
"She looks like the other girls." Mrs. Nichols said.  
  
"She fits the profile." Jack said.  
  
"Could Elise still be alive?" Mr. Nichols asked.  
  
"We simply have no way of knowing." Jack said.

A previously silent Will Graham offers an odd question, "How’s the cat?"  
  
"What?" Mrs. Nichols asked surprised.

"How’s your cat? Elise was supposed to feed it. Was the cat weird when you came home? It didn’t eat all weekend. Must have been hungry." Will repeated the question.

The Nichols are initially unsure how to respond, then Mr. Nichols said, "I didn’t notice."  
  
"He took her from here." Will said then he added off Jack’s look. "She got on a train. She came home. She fed the cat. And he took her."  
  
Jack doesn’t hesitate to pull out his phone and dial, "The Nichols house is a crime scene. I need ERT immediately. Zeller, Katz, Jimmy Price, a photographer."

The Nichols are trying to wrap their minds around the quick flurry of action and what it means to their little girl.  
  
"Can I see your daughter’s room?" Will asked.  
  
"Police were up there this morning." Mrs. Nichols said.

\----------------------

Mr. Nichols leads Will, who pulls on gloves as they approach. Will warily eyes the cat pawing at the door eager to go inside. Will stops Mr. Nichols from reaching the door knob.  
  
"I’ll get that. Mr. Nichols, would you put your hands in your pockets and avoid touching anything please?" Will asked.  
  
"We been in and out of here all day." Mr. Nichols said.  
  
"You can hold the cat if it’s easier." Will said.

Mr. Nichols picks up the cat as instructed. Will wraps a gloved hand around the knob and opens the door.  
  
The light from the hallway streaks across the floor and up the wall as Will entered. He stands just inside the door, immediately noticing the open window. He flicks on the light switch, illuminating the room. He stares.  
  
She lays coffin-style in her bed, dressed in pajamas as if she had just gone to sleep. The gray pallor of her skin, the clean puncture wounds visible under her pajamas, and her un-breathing bosom are immediately evident to Will. Sadly, Mr. Nichols fails to notice. Blinded by hope, he steps forward.  
  
"Elise?" Mr. Nichols said.  
  
Will raises a gloved hand, stopping Mr. Nichols, "I need you to leave the room."

Realizing the worst, Mr. Nichols abruptly drops the cat.

**FOREST VIRGINIA-DAY**

"Hello, ladies nice of you to join us on this nice day." Detective Antonio Maza said in greeting.

Clarice and Ardelia slammed the doors of her black 1969 Dodge Charger RT closed and they walked over to him. Both trainees were wearing street clothes, Clarice wore a black button up dress shirt that showed off the two rings she wore around her neck since the top two buttons were undone under a black leather jacket and dark blue denim jeans and black high heeled boots. Ardelia wore a three quarter sleeve white dress shirt under a dark brown leather jacket and dark blue denim jeans and dark brown high heeled boots.

Both women had their hair pulled back in a pony tails, keeping their hair out of their faces.

"Hello, Detective Maza." Clarice greeted as Ardelia waved at him in greeting.

"Follow me, ladies and I'll give you the cliff note version then you can read the case files later." Maza said motioning to the trainees to follow him. "Okay, ladies this is the sixth victim of the Casanova Ripper."

"Casanova Ripper?" Ardelia echoed as she and Clarice followed after him.

"Yeah, Cannibal Serial Killer is what the media had dubbed him, been a real pain in the ass." Maza said.

"There's been evidence that he ate his victims?" Clarice asked.

"More like he leaves a note, telling us that he took what he wanted from them." Maza said. "Haven't gotten any DNA or a match on the papers but he is using some expensive sheets."

Ardelia looked down at the body of a young woman, she was naked and dumped in the middle of the forest but no scavengers had gotten to her. She was beautiful, she had a stab wound to an area called 'Heaven's Gate' at the bottom of her head, just below her ear and her tongue was cut out, as she could see when the coroner had the woman's mouth open.

"Why do you call him Casanova Ripper?" Ardelia asked.

Maza looked at her and said, "Because he only goes after women and the women he kills are very well taken care of even after he kills them, he only takes what he needs from them and that's it."

"But why dump her in a forest where the scavengers could get to her?" Clarice asked.

"Oh, he sets up things to keep the away from the bodies and he hides them well enough in case a scavenger does get passed the little traps he had set up."

"But he doesn't hide them well enough not to be found by a human." Ardelia said as she stood up.

"Right." Maza said. "And you ladies are here to help us catch him, I want you to read up on his case files and try to get a profile on him...I want to catch his ass."

"Yes, sir." Clarice and Ardelia said.

Maza smiled at them and said, "I'll leave you two to it then, I'll just be over there keeping the two legged scavengers away from you."

"We'd really appreciate that, sir." Clarice said with a smile. 

"After the punch you had given to that Freddie Lounds woman, it's now something I have to do." Maza said with a smirk before he walked away.

"Punch a noisy red haired once and you're marked for life." Clarice muttered.

Ardelia smiled and said, "An insensitive and rude noisy red haired, Clare Bear."

"Oh, right." Clarice said with a small laugh before she and Ardelia looked at the body as the coroners and the rest of the uniformed officers left them alone with the body.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Casanova Ripper, Chesapeake Ripper....both Cannibal Serial Killers but have different MOs.


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Clarice has the same ability as Will (kind of, she doesn't see from the killer's or victim's point of view more like she's the third unseen party, kind of like Mr. Stooge but she can't see the killer's face or form, they are always shrouded in darkness) but it isn't fully developed yet. Clarice always puts herself in a long white nightgown in her 'visions' like this https://i.pinimg.com/564x/a2/c1/67/a2c167ce9070c26cc5a39d03ee1e43b7.jpg plus the necklace.
> 
> Oh and Hannibal doesn't want to be friends with Will in this version, he views Will as a rival for Clarice's affections and wants him gone

**Aperitif Act 2**

Jack speaks quietly to Will, "You’re all wired. You talk it out to us when you feel like it, don’t say anything when you don’t feel like it. Take as long as you want. We will come in when you tell us."

Will nodded his head, Jack stands and exits the room.

The crime-scene photographer takes pictures. Jimmy Price (50, solid, focused) dusts the window for fingerprints. Beverly Katz (30s, bright-eyed yet weary) combs for hairs and fibers. Brian Zeller (early 30’s, handsome) shines a light under Elise’s box spring, exposing a cracked bed board. Jack herds Price, Katz and Zeller out the door.  
  
Will scoops up water in his hands from the faucet in the sink to wash down the last two Aspirin from his now empty bottle. He splashes water on his face, dries it with his shirttail.  
  
Will has climbed out the window onto the porch roof. He sits on the gritty shingles. He hugs his knees, his damp shirt pressed cold across his back. He snorts the night air to cleanse the smell of Elise Nichols death from his nose. From his vantage point, he can see police officers, police cars and other crime scene specialists assembled on the lawn. Mr. and Mrs. Nichols are treated in the back of an Ambulance.

Will takes a breath, exhales, then closes his eyes.  
  
A pendulum swings in the darkness of Will's mind, keeping rhythm with his heart beat....  
  
_**He opens his eyes and he is standing outside Elise Nichols’ Bedroom Window. The neighborhood is quiet and empty. No Police. No Police Cars. No Ambulance. He looks through the window glass to Elise Nichols sleeping soundly in her bed. Will quietly opens the window.**_  
  
_**Will stands over Elise Nichols, very much alive. He watches her for a quiet moment. Tears well in Will’s eyes, then...**_

_**Will bears down on Elise’s chest with his knee, cracking ribs as he simultaneously squeezes her throat shut with his hands. It’s sudden and horrible and violent. Elise is immediately startled out of a deep sleep into terror. Elise struggles, her face swelling with pressure, capillaries in her skin and the whites of her eye wrinkle and burst. Tears stream down her cheeks as she tries to scream but cannot. The bed board finally snapped and with it, Elise dies.** _

Unbeknownst to Will, Beverly has not left the room, as instructed. She’s standing over Elise Nichols’ dead body, which she exposed by peeling back sheets.  
  
"You’re Will Graham." Beverly said.  
  
"You’re not supposed to be in here." Will said startled out of his thoughts.  
  
"You wrote the standard monograph on time of death by insect activity." She then indicates her tweezers and what’s between them. "Found velvet in two of the wounds." She looked at him curiously. "You’re not real F.B.I.?"  
  
"I’m a special investigator." Will said.  
  
"Never been an F.B.I. Agent?" Beverly asked.  
  
"Strict screening procedures." Will answered.  
  
"Detects instability. You unstable?" Beverly asked.

Jack hurried in at that moment, as annoyed with Beverly as Will, "You’re not supposed to be in here."  
  
"Found antler velvet in two of the wounds. Like she was gored. Was looking for velvet in the other wounds but I was interrupted." Beverly said.

Brian is now standing next to Will, "Deer and elk pin their prey, put all their weight on the antlers and try to suffocate them. That’s how they would kill a fox or a coyote."

Will, very subtle, retreats from the conversation.  
  
"Elise Nichols was strangled and suffocated. Ribs were broken." Jack said.  
  
"It’s not rutting season. Male deer aren’t competing for female deer this time of year." Brian said.  
  
"Antler velvet is rich in nutrients. It actually promotes healing. He may have put it there on purpose." Will stated suddenly.  
  
"You think he wanted to heal her?" Jack asked him.  
  
"He was trying to undo as much as he could, given he already killed her." Will said.  
  
"He put her back where he found her." Jack said.  
  
"Whatever he did to the others, he couldn’t do it to her." Will said.  
  
"Is this his Golden Ticket?" Jack asked.  
  
"No. This is an apology." The “apology” catches in Will’s throat and hangs in the air. He runs his hand over his forehead and takes a deep breath. "Does anyone have any Aspirin?"

**FOREST, VIRGINIA-DAY**

Clarice takes a breath, exhales, then closes her eyes.

A pendulum swings in the darkness of Clarice's mind, keeping rhythm with her heart beat....

_**She opened her eyes** **and she is standing in a now quiet and empty forest, no Police, no Police Cars and no Ambulance. She looked looked over her shoulder when she heard a car pull up behind her, the headlights caused her nightgown to become transparent.**_

_**Clarice watched as the drive side door open and a shadowed man climbed out of the vehicle and move to the trunk where he popped it open and careful picked up the body, he carried her passed Clarice and placed her down before he straightened and walked away....** _

She opened her eyes and looked down at the faint footprints on the ground, following them with her eyes.

"What's up, Clare Bear?" Ardelia asked when she noticed Clarice's attention was elsewhere.

"....He didn't go to his car after placing her body down." Clarice muttered. "He walked over there for some reason." She walked over to where she had pointed to, carefully, with Ardelia right behind her. The two women headed towards a bush that was just behind the body, Clarice carefully moved the branches and leaves out of the way and looked inside to see a Juliet rose resting there.

"...Isn't that the most expensive rose out there?" Ardelia squeaked out. "Why would he leave it out here and away from the victim?"

"....Because it wasn't for her." Clarice whispered as she stared at the innocent rose.

"Uh? What makes you think that?" Ardelia asked.

Clarice shrugged her shoulders and said, "Just a gut feeling, Lia Lia."

\-------

Will plops into an uncomfortable Coach Class Seat, cracks open another Aspirin sample pack and swallows them.

\-------

Will plops behind the steering wheel. He reaches into his pocket and pulls out several empty Aspirin packs.  
  
Will stares into middle distance as he drives, hypnotized by the pavement unfurling ahead of him. Headlights reflect off of something in the distance moving down the empty road. Will squints over the steering wheel as he approaches the certain something and finally realizes what it is...  
  
Will slows considerably as he pulls along side a dog. A rope around its neck suggests it was once tied to something. No collar, matted fur, nevertheless it trots with determination, barely acknowledging Will as he rolls down his window.  
  
"Hello." Will said.

The stray Dog stops and allows Will to drive past. Will slows to a stop and gets out of his car, at which point the dog abruptly turns around and heads the opposite direction. Despite being absolutely exhausted emotionally and physically, Will gets back in his car and u-turns on the road to pursue the dog who is keeping a steady pace trotting away.  
  
Will goes around the Dog, blocking both lanes of the road ahead of it Police Car style. The Dog trots around his car in a half-circle, continuing down the road on the other side. The Dog with the rope around its neck continues its sojourn into the night, undeterred by anything up until this point. The Dog trotting past Will sitting on his car, unwrapping a bag of hot dogs from a 7-11 BAG. The dog stops.  
  
Will already seems lighter in spirit. He glances at the mangy Dog securely fastened into the passenger seat and asks, "What do you want from me?"

The dog just stares.

\------

The dog stands patiently as Will shaves off clumps of matted hair with an electric trimmer, tossing them in a woolly pile.  
  
The dog stands patiently in a tub as Will massages a soapy lather through his furry coat and around the bald patches.  
  
The dog stands patiently as Will gently towel-dries and simultaneously blow-dries him next to a space heater.  
  
The dog stands patiently in his kennel looking up at Will.  
  
"Winston. This is everybody. Everybody. This is Winston." Will said to the eight formally stray dogs staring at Winston in the safety of a new dog kennel. Will is a dog collector.  
  
An alpha dog steps forward and growls at Winston. Will quickly corrects the aggressive mutt with a sharp look and said, "Tsssst." Alpha steps back into line, sits, then lays down obediently. "That’s right."

\--------

Will lets the hot water wash over him, surrounded by steam. The steam grows more dense and then slowly and only slightly, thins revealing Will is now standing in the misty forest of this mind. He is deep in thought, barely noticing the stag walking through the misty forest fog only 20 feet away. Snapping back to the shower, Will shuts off the water.  
  
The entire pack is huddled together sleigh-dog style surrounding Winston’s dog kennel. Will sleeps quietly in his bed on the other side of the room. Moonlight-cast tree branch shadows stretch along the walls and across the ceiling. Then there’s another breathing in the room. Will calmly opens his eyes, holding his own breath as he listens for the second breather. The mysterious breathing continues as Will turns to see laying in bed next to him.  
  
Elise Nichols, she’s wearing the nightie Will found her in, appearing exactly as she did in her own bed, but now she’s in his. As Will reaches out to touch her, the antler-like tree branch shadows shift and stretch, piercing Elise through her wounds, re-impaling her and pulling her into the darkness. Elise slowly recedes into the shadows and disappears.  
  
He jolts awake in his bed, soaking wet with perspiration. Elise Nichols was lying next to him only in a dream.  
  
His shirt and underwear cling indiscriminately as he throws back the damp sheets and climbs out of bed. He exits his room, peeling off clothes like a wet bathing suit that then slaps to the floor.

Will entered his room, pulling on a dry t-shirt and underwear, lays a beach towel down on the wet bed, then crawls inside. He pulls the sheets back over himself, heaving a deep sigh.

**CLARICE STARLING'S AND ARDELIA MAPP'S HOUSE-NIGHT**

"Man, Detective Maza is such a hard ass." Ardelia complained as she walked through the front door after unlocking it and tossing her jacket and purse onto the chair that they kept near the front door, Clarice followed in after her and locked the door behind them.

Clarice chuckled and said, "You're telling me, I thought he was going to keep everyone there until dawn."

"I wouldn't be surprised if he had done that before....he seemed like the type."

"Yeah, no kidding...I'm going to hit the shower then get to bed." 

"I second that whole heartedly, see you in the morning, Clare Bear."

"Yeah, night." Clarice said as she waved to her friend and headed to her own bedroom to get ready for a shower and bed.

**Author's Note:**

> Just a normal morning for the roommates...with a Cannibal mixed in lol you'll see more of their interaction later, I am sure most of you are curious about how they'd feel when Clarice tells them about Hannibal and her....there will be much teasing because of what she will say in a chapter coming soonish.
> 
> Clarice's baby http://carswithmuscles.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/01/drt5.jpg


End file.
